Lake view: ACA is affordable

Recent letters have complained about the "cost" of the Affordable Healthcare Act health care law. They seem never to consider the fact that we are already paying the medical costs of the uninsured. Several studies have found that an additional one thousand dollars is added to the premium of each private insurance policy.

Comment

By Francis Carr

The Lake News Online

By Francis Carr

Posted Oct. 31, 2013 at 10:00 AM

By Francis Carr

Posted Oct. 31, 2013 at 10:00 AM

Lake area

Recent letters have complained about the "cost" of the Affordable Healthcare Act health care law. They seem never to consider the fact that we are already paying the medical costs of the uninsured. Several studies have found that an additional one thousand dollars is added to the premium of each private insurance policy.

This to help pay for treatment for the uninsured, usually in an ER the most expensive venue. Further the federal and state governments pay billions every year to reimburse hospitals, which can't by law refuse to treat the uninsured, for treatment provided. Even worse those uninsured with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease are twice as likely to require hospital admissions. These are often due the person not having the funds to fill their prescriptions. Missouri has about 800,000 uninsured.

Two hundred and sixty thousand of them could have been covered under the expanded Medicaid program , but our legislature in a moment of insanity decided to refuse millions of federal dollars which would have paid the full cost of this expansion for three years. Those people would be able to substitute doctor visits for the ERs and would not have to decide between food for their families and medicines, thus reducing the number of hospitalizations. It would be a win, win situation healthier people and lower over all costs. There has been a lot complaining about the glitches in the web site for the ACA.

There were similar problems when the largest unfunded entitlement program in our history Pres. Bush's Rx program was rolled out. During the first month of the sign up for Romney care in Ma. only about 120 people were able to sign up but by the end of that period 40,000 had signed up, and now more than 90 % of the population has health insurance and overall costs are lower. We should be so lucky.